Free Speech Activists Gather at WilmerHale to Protest Pepe Meme Lawsuit Threats
Cassandra Fairbanks
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Free speech activists gathered for an impromptu and unannounced protest outside WilmerHale on Wednesday to speak out against the firm’s lawsuits threats on behalf of their Pepe-creator client Matt Furie.
The DC-based firm has filed a cease and desist on behalf of Furie regarding the use of Pepe memes against Mike Cernovich, Baked Alaska, The Donald subreddit, and others — as well as threatening a lawsuit.
On Wednesday, approximately 20 people gathered with signs, including at least one featuring Pepe himself, and chanted “Stop Censorship.”
As Big League Politics reported earlier in the day, a meme of Pepe wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat was also projected on the front of the Wilmer Hale building late Tuesday evening.
Provided to BLP by an anonymous source.
Photos and video of the projector protest was provided exclusively to Big League Politics by an anonymous tipster. The tipster told Big League Politics that “projecting the content that WilmerHale is so desperate to censor onto its headquarters is a good way to let them know that their bullying won’t work.”
“If WilmerHale thinks it can use its status as a white-shoe DC law firm to silence speech with which its elitist clients disagree, they are sorely mistaken. I expect more things like this to happen in the future, as free speech advocates will continue to push back against WilmerHale’s Orwellian tactics,” the anonymous source added.
WilmerHale is Robert Mueller’s former law firm and represents clients such as Disney, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner. There has previously been concerns from politicians and media about the firm’s client list being in conflict with his role as a special prosecutor overseeing the Russia election meddling witch hunt.
The escalating battle between those with a fondness for internet culture and WilmerHale appears to be shaping up similar to the 2016 war between 4chan and Reddit users and actor Shia Labeouf’s He Will Not Divide Us installation.
Lebeouf had installed a livestream camera as an art installation against President Donald Trump, which became a hangout for many of the internet’s top internet trolls. After things didn’t go according to the actor’s plan, he was forced to remove the installation that had been previously set to run throughout Trump’s presidency.
Instead, Lebeouf decided to livestream “He Will Not Divide Us” flags from a museum, and eventually undisclosed locations. After the flag was repeatedly located and captured by 4chan trolls, using flight patterns and other insanely clever methods, the actor finally gave up.
https://twitter.com/netzmensch/status/841697452986126336
Judging by the past 24 hours, it appears that WilmerHale has now caught their attention, and as those who enjoy Pepe would say — it is shaping up for some “top kek.”
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